This is a guest post by my neighbor friend Tina. She sent it to me, so I thought I'd use it. (Yes, I did get her permission) Just for reference, she and her mother-in-law get along very well. I think we've all received things at some point in time that we would never have even thought about. Some are hits and some, well... It makes me wonder how many of the things I've given people would make it onto a list like this. Probably quite a bit.
I'm not a blogger, but here are my 13 things I wouldn't have known I needed until my mother-in-law gave them to me:
1. Mother-of-pearl cake knife. She knew we would need one to use at our wedding and she graciously offered to give us the one she got for her wedding. I had already arranged to borrow my friend's silver one, so I politely declined. However, she insisted on giving it to me anyway and I currently have it in my knife drawer. I have never used it.
2. Cow head on a stick. I received this for Christmas one year. It was literally a cow head with two sticks. One screwed into the cow's neck and the other screwed into the other end of the first stick. You're supposed to put it in your flower bed. Why would there be a 3' tall cow lurking among my bushes? Oh well...he's there now.
3. New pots and pans. I received a lovely set of pots and pans from the hostesses at my wedding shower. I never used them. I already had my fully functional red pot, matching skillet, and random saucepan. Three pans are all I needed. The Christmas I got the new pots and pans, I had asked for a new screen door. My in-laws refused. They said you should get things you WANT for Christmas. Why would I want a third set of pots and pans? What I wanted was an attractive screen door (which my parents gave us, by the way) I passed down the pots and pans I received at my shower to my sister when she moved out of my parents' house. Joe (her husband) occasionally uses the extra small pan from the Christmas set to cook ramen noodles. I still use my red pans.
4. Red wool pea coat. I actually love this coat. I already had a blue wool pea coat, so I didn't really NEED a new coat, but I like the one she gave me.
5. Anything size extra small. I am not an extra small person! I am a medium sized person! The wool coat is a size 6, so that worked out fine. However, any other time I have received clothing items from Joe's side of the family, I've had to return them because they all think I'm petite. (Just for the record, Tina does look petite.)
6. Expandable cookie cooling racks. When I bake cookies, I put foil on the cookie sheet before dropping the cookie dough balls on it. That way I can just slide the foil off the pan and onto the counter to cool. No need to transfer them to a wire rack. OH, and when these racks are fully expanded, they take up more counter space than I actually HAVE.
7. Grilled cheese skillet. This is a small, square cast iron skillet that is exactly the same size as one piece of bread. Theoretically, you could cook one grilled cheese sandwich in it. However, it doesn't give you room to flip. And I never cook just one grilled cheese sandwich!
8. Sweater protectors. These are little strips of foam that you put on wire hangers to protect sweaters from getting stretched out when you hang them. Who hangs sweaters? Not me.
9. Seasonal socks. I have received more than one pair of these. Christmas trees, snowmen, sunflowers, etc. In size 9-12. I wear 7 1/2; well I would wear a 7 1/2 if I wore seasonal socks. I usually like to stick with neutral colors.
10. Handheld submersible blender. For making chocolate milk. You pour the milk, then the chocolate, and then submerge this thingy and it mixes it up.
12. Decorative Santa Fireman. No explanation needed.
13. Toilet seat covers. Not even I am this particular. If the bathroom is dirty enough that I need to bring my own toilet seat cover, I'll just wait.
Check here for more Thursday Thirteen.
Just for the record, if any other friends and family would like to send my Thursday Thirteens, I'll use them if you'll let me. It can be difficult to come up with one of these every Thursday, so I'm always looking for an easy out.
10 comments:
hmmm..cow head on a stick?
that is just too funny!
LOL I don't know if I would even want to go down that road! But hey, I collect cows, so I maybe would put that out in my yard!
I am very careful now about what I say, because I said I wanted to decorate my kitchen in cows, and I now collect them, and they are not in the kitchen. I didn't start collecting them on purpose.
Now I just always say I love lotion and candles, and I need bath towels!
Is the cow head on a stick a warning to all the other cows not to come around the flower bed?
What a funny post!! I haven't read a TT13 that made me laugh this much in awhile. For me, it's not my mother-in-law who died before I met my husband, but my dad's second wife. My additions to your list is
1. cheesy ugly fake gold bracelet I would never wear in a million years.
2. a huge winter scene print all framed and hung above my fireplace when they were house sitting for us...it's the view of a snowy street from people in the back of a horse drawn carriage. The perspective is such that the closest things appear much larger than the rest - think about what might be first in view from the back of a HORSE drawn carriage. yup. we call it the Horse's A** print.
Thanks for making me laugh at the start of my day. The cow's-head thing is priceless.
Sweater protectors...is that what those little foam strips are for? For years now I've been thinking their only purpose is to snag on my clothes so they won't hang properly!
Ha ha ha...I thought everyone's flower bed had cows in them!
Thanks for the laughs!
Oh, these are too funny. My mom is also notorious for giving presents that just make you confused. :)
It sounds like your mother is law is a smart lady. Great list:)
LOL great idea for a list - I may have to steal this idea someday.
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